Setting an Online Presence

So you believe being online with a domain is the next best thing for the growth of your career, but how do you intend to go about this?

1. Set your goals.

Write your plan, make it plain. Itemize your set goals, aims and objectives and carefully strategize on how you intend to achieve your goals. After setting the goals, break it down. Think of it in smaller bits. Maybe your big picture is, “I want my professional website to be among the top 5 most viewed in my chosen profession.” Then break it down into actionable steps that will help you to achieve your goal.

I will blog every day.

I will do product reviews.

I will offer advice to 5 loyal readers every month for free.

By itemizing your steps, it makes your goal seem attainable and gives you a boost of confidence along the way, which in turn makes it more likely for us not to give up on the bigger picture of getting you a good web presence and potential employment with companies of your choice

Don’t build an online persona for the sake of it, or because that’s what all your colleagues and associates are doing. Build it to a level where it can help your overall career goals. You will only get from it what you put in so the key is good photos and good content.

2. Get SEO (Search engine optimization)

Being solid starts with your personalised website. It should be the central place where your audience and potential employers and clients can learn more about you, what you have to offer and how people can contact you to find out more. However, this won’t have any impact if your webpage is drowned amidst a sea of content on the web. And this is where SEO comes in.

If you are not an SEO expert? Ask for help from an expert. Excellent application of SEO techniques can literally take your personalised website from zero to ranking on the front page of Google. Beyond hiring an expert, it’s also important to understand basic SEO practices so that you can channel your efforts towards creating directable content that will drive prospective employers, etc, to you.

3. Be consistent and create value

Once you decide to get you own personalised domain you will need to get into the habit of adding regular, relevant content that will help you start moving towards your goal. Make sure you do this on a daily basis. Then link this to YouTube, Instagram or your WordPress account or social media to get the message out there to gain maximum exposure to your personal profile and skills.

This will help you to attain credibility and then you slowly become an authority in your professional field, hereby carving a niche for yourself, which is very important for your online growth and visibility when you are trying to attract potential employers.

4. Focus on a tool

You may think it’s okay to be everywhere online however, this strategy could be detrimental rather than build you up. Why, you may ask yourself? Being inactive on social media could have negative impacts on brandyou.com if people cannot get hold of you. So if you cannot keep up with all requests and replies and you are finding it difficult to give equal amounts of attention to all your accounts, focus on just a few.

5. Comment on forums

Be an active participant on online forums associated with your niche, profession and expertise. You could even guest blog. Over time, after sharing practical advice and contributing intelligently to conversations on these forums with larger audience than yours, you slowly build a wider reputation as a force to be reckoned with in your industry and your profession.

6. Keep track

How do you know whether all this hard work is paying off? And you are getting the social exposure your career needs? Keep track. You have limited time as it is in the hospitality industry. Don’t just sit in front of your screen day in and out and expect that your plan is falling into place just because you’re following the process. Keep track. Check the number of likes your posts garner daily. Is your presence growing daily on Facebook while twitter seems not to? Keep track. This would inform you on whether or not to change strategy or keep you satisfied that you seem to be doing the right thing and getting the exposure you need to get your next career move.

7. Be patient

Having asked you to keep track, it is also important to ask you to be patient. It may sound contradictory, but they are two different concepts that both have their places in this journey. Your professional social presence will take time to develop but once it does you should be getting the reviews and the visibility that you want.

If you have been able to do all the aforementioned points, having a strong presence on social media is imminent. However, you must be patient enough to see it happen and not set unrealistic expectations.

Be prepared to experiment with content. There is no hard and fast rule to these things, don’t be afraid to try different things. You will then begin to see what works best for you and the audience you want to attract.